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Kansas Jayhawks: Should KU Be Playing The Missouri Tigers

By Joel Wagler

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The Kansas Jayhawks have not played the Missouri Tigers in basketball or football since the Tigers departed for the SEC three years ago. Should Kansas be playing their one-time rivalry?

From a fan’s point of view, the answer to that question is a definitive “Yes!”. As fans, we all miss this long time rivalry. It is one of the things that makes college sports in this area so fun.

Who doesn’t miss the joy of their team beating their biggest rival? Who doesn’t miss that agony of losing to that same rival? Heck, it used to be fun just to root against Mizzou. Now, even that doesn’t feel the same.

The inspiration for this article came from a discussion on Twitter today. It was mainly between Bryce Perry (@BPerryKC) and Alan Covington (@Alan_Covington). Bryce was arguing that Kansas doesn’t need to  play Missouri, and Alan was on the other side. It was a spirited debate, as both seem passionate about their stance.

THE DEBATE RAGES ON

Obviously, this is just a small sampling of the discussion, but it was very entertaining to follow. Both gentlemen have good points.

Alan is very correct. The college atmosphere, that sense of rivalry, has died a bit since Missouri left the Big 12, and since the Kansas Jayhawks don’t seem to want to play the Missouri Tigers, the Jayhawks must shoulder that part of the blame. The fact remains, Missouri left the Big 12, though.

And Bryce also has a valid point. It does not benefit the Jayhawks to play a fired up Tiger team. It doesn’t have anything to do with fear or courage, but more about how would it benefit Self’s teams for Kansas to play Missouri.

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If they played, and the Kansas Jayhawks won, well, that’s okay, they were supposed to win. If they lose, what a boon for the Tigers! They just upset the Jayhawks!

As a Kansas fan, I totally understand the position taken by my school. There is very little benefit for Kansas to play Mizzou. In fact, there is probably no upside.

As a college basketball fan, and a fan of the Kansas/Missouri rivalry, I would love to see the renewal of this series, in both football and basketball. I would love to see this game become a regular part of the Jayhawks’ schedule.

In basketball, imagine the raucous atmosphere if these two long time enemies met every year, alternating between each schools’ home court. Heck, at this point, I would love a yearly meeting, say, right before the holidays, in the Sprint Center. What a gift that would be!

Alas, it isn’t going to happen anytime soon. The best chance may have been for the Kansas Jayhawks and the Missouri Tigers to meet in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. According to the archives of the Lawrence Journal World, Self has no intentions of ever playing Missouri in this event either.

Now, if these two teams are going to play each other, it will probably be in the NCAA Tournament, if and when Missouri can get to the point where they can return to the tourney action.

At least Self is consistent. He won’t schedule Kansas to play the Wichita State Shockers either. In recent seasons, this game could have been extremely entertaining as the Shockers have become one of the premier mid-major programs in the country, complete with a number one NCAA seeding last year, and a Final Four appearance in 2013.

So the debate will rage on. Bryce and Alan won’t be the last fans to argue this point. Heck, I argue with myself about the pluses and minuses. From the standpoint of the fans, the Kansas/Missouri rivalry should be maintained on a yearly basis, but from Kansas’ viewpoint, there isn’t any upside.

Only one thing is for sure – the fans are losing out.

Thanks to Alan Covington and Bryce Perry for your fun discussion.

Next: 2008 Champs: Where Are They Now?

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